With food insecurity on the rise, state Attorney General Letitia James said Monday state lawmakers should permanently fund universal school meals for New York students in the next budget. 

James toured the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York in Albany before it opens a new 50,000-square-foot distribution center in Orange County to better serve needy New Yorkers in the Hudson Valley and rural counties in the North Country.

Food bank leaders said about 1 in every 10 New York households relies on a food pantry.

The attorney general said the state must permanently fund universal school meals for all New York students in the next budget as more families battle hunger — an effort several lawmakers have led in recent years. 

"I heard from providers in the city and providers in upstate New York that we need to make it permanent," James exclusively told Spectrum News 1 adding, "We need more funding for food deserts."

About $145 million of the state's $237 billion budget funds free school meals in low-income districts. Lawmakers estimate the program needs an additional $100 million, or $250 million total, to achieve universal coverage.

James routinely visits food banks and similar organizations throughout the year because her office investigates price gouging, or instances where companies overcharge consumers for goods and services. 

The nonprofit supplies over a thousand organizations that feed hungry families in 23 upstate counties.

"Our demand is ever-changing and it's ever-growing," said John Buntich, senior development officer of the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York. "The economy and what's going on is just making it impossible for (people) to make ends meet."

Buntich said food insecurity, or the number of New Yorkers who do not know where their next meal will come from, is up 1.5% in those 23 counties since 2022. 

And the universal problem continues to grow.

"Hunger is everywhere," Buntich said. "It is Black, white, brown; it is rural, it is in cities, it is in suburbs, it is literally everywhere."

James toured the food bank ahead of Thanksgiving. The nonprofit distributes over 50 million pounds of food annually, but is on track to give out over 4 million additional pounds of food and supplies this year.

"This has nothing to do with politics [and] nothing to do with your belief system," James said. "It all has to do with serving a need that's out there. And they serve anyone who comes through their door."

Food bank leaders said Monday that food insecurity rose sharply during the pandemic, but the need has stayed elevated.

Hunger looks different in every New York town, but is on the rise everywhere. A continued influx of migrants to the state from the northern and sourthern borders has further exhausted resources.

"It's so important for us to not just do drive-thrus and not just put food in a trunk of a car and let somebody drive away, but really drive those needing us to the partners, to the pantries so that they can get a full service while we're there," food bank Chief Operations Officer Nick Pisani said.

Half of the food bank's supplies are donated, but the organization also relies on state and federal support.

Food bank leaders want more in the state budget for the Nourish New York program, which partners farmers with food pantries to give agricultural products to families in need.

"It helps farmers stay whole," Pisani said. "It helps manufacturers and producers all within New York and New York money staying in New York to help the farming community, but also food insecurity and those in need."

James also wants more funding for programs and organizations across the state that help feed New Yorkers who are homebound, including the elderly and the disabled community.

"They do it with love and they do it with care and they do it because they think about the least individuals who are our neighbors — individuals who may not want to tell you they are suffering from food insecurity," she said.